 V e of the Indycar
Series !
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Jim Perkins Becomes Honorary Member of the Registry !
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September, 2012
It's our great privilege to announce that Jim Perkins has been selected as our Honorary Member for 2012.
Jim began his
career in 1960 at General Motors and Chevrolet in a warehouse job sorting parts
returned under warranty. He rose up the ladder at Chevy and GM in many roles –
from Chevrolet zone manager to general sales manager at Buick. He then left the
company for stints at Toyota under the development of the Lexus luxury brand.
But in 1989, he was brought back to GM as General Manager of the Chevrolet
Division. There he distinguished himself by re-energizing the Chevy brand in
the 1980’s, under the motto of Chevy Proud.
Jim was also a
proud supporter of the Corvette and is credited with rescuing the brand from
near extinction in the ‘90s when the new C5 model was being questioned for its
value to the Chevy lineup. Perkins offered more than moral support, and even
quietly shifted some funds to get the new prototypes built – in the face of the
anguish of some of Chevy’s auditors!
Jim retired
from General Motors as head of the Chevy Division in 1996, but just a few
months later returned to his automotive roots by becoming CEO of the Hendrick
Automotive Group in Charlotte, NC, one of the largest auto retail connection in
the U.S.
Perkins was
recognized in 1999 by induction into the Chevrolet Corvette Hall of Fame by
the National Corvette Museum. In addition to his support for the car, Jim also
went to bat many times in support of the NCM in its role of preservation and
promotion of the marquee.
Jim was also a
Indy Pace Car fan, driving the 1990 Beretta,
the 1993 Camaro Z-28, and finally his proudest entry around the Indy 500
track piloting the 1995 Corvette.
Jim was our
guest speaker at our 7th Pace Car Registry event in Charlotte in
2012 and our host at the amazing Hendrick collection of Corvettes. He signed
many of our IDs at the event by writing under his name “80, 93, 95”, the years
he drove a Pace Car at Indy.
Update: Sadly the Registry and Corvette community lost Jim on December 28th, 2018 at the age of 83. Jim was a car guy, a Chevy guy, a
Corvette guy, and a Pace Car guy. He was also a supportive friend and mentor to
many of his Chevrolet colleagues, and for everyone he met a truly warm and
unpretentious person to be around.
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